Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.10.2016, Blaðsíða 54

INTERVIEW
Golfing In The
Westman Islands
Being angry and frustrated in a
beautiful place
Words & Photos YORK UNDERWOOD
“I’m going to tell you something,
okay? What shot do you really
think you can do? Do you think
you’re going to make that long dif-
ficult shot? Probably not. You want
to be a better golfer? Make better
decisions,” said Howard Glassman,
co-host of the golf podcast Swing
Thoughts and co-host of the long-
running and popular Humble and
Fred Show in Toronto. “But just
stop for a second and look around,”
he continues. “This is great. We’re
golfing in Iceland. The view alone
puts most courses to shame.”
The golf course in question is
on Vestmannaeyjar, or The West-
man Islands, an archipelago off
the south coast of Iceland. The
course sits amongst the remnants
of an extinct volcano, right on the
coastline, and features swarms of
puffins and Arctic terns circling
overhead before settling back on
the cliffs. The course was built in
1938 by 36 dedicated golf enthusi-
asts. It was originally nine holes,
but was expanded to eighteenin
the early 1990s.
“This is the type of course
where they just laid down the turf
over the natural landscape, sim-
ilar to Scotland,” said Howard.
He’s in Iceland on a trip with his
daughter, but agreed to go golfing
with me and leave his daughter
Charlie to fend for herself in town
for a few hours.
In 1973, Eldfell erupted, result-
ing in a complete evacuation of
the Westman Islands. The golf
course was completely covered in
ash. After a few years, the origi-
nal course was restored and in
1994 the course was expanded and
edged right up to the sea, giving
it one of the most breathtaking
and difficult back nine holes in
Europe. With Iceland being on the
tip of the Gulf Stream, the weath-
er is mild enough for golfers to
play year-round.
“You want to keep your head
down until after you hit the ball,”
says Howard. “You’re raising your
left shoulder and topping the ball.
This course is very tight. It’s all
close together. You don’t have a lot
of room for error… Look! A tourist
just popped out of nowhere. You
could have killed him. This might
be the only golf course where hu-
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 16 — 2016
54
mans are also a common hazard
on the course.”
If you’re not a tournament play-
er and all-around expert like How-
ard, the course is still quite man-
ageable. I’m what life insurance
agencies call “a liability.” That
didn’t stop me, however, from tap-
ping in a nice birdie on a par 3 in
the back nine. This sudden stroke
of decent playing only led to more
frustration and heartbreak for the
rest of the round. As P.G. Wode-
house said, “Sudden success in
golf is like the sudden acquisition
of wealth. It is apt to unsettle and
deteriorate the character.”
Howard and I returned our cart
and headed into the clubhouse to
return our rental clubs. Howard
continued his coaching, encour-
aging me to keep practicing. He
sees a lot of potential—it’ll just
take work. Then, as I handed my
clubs in, he grabbed one out of the
bag. “No wonder you were topping
all day,” he says. “These are wom-
en’s clubs.”
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